California Legislature Considers Art Education Initiative
January 16, 2006
Last week California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed $100 million to create a new Art and Music initiative to support standards-aligned art and music instruction in kindergarten and grades one through eight as part of the 2006-2007 state budget. This proposal will be considered by the California General Assembly during the upcoming legislative session.
The Illinois Arts Alliance reports that this is a significant story about arts education not only in California, but nationally. The action comes after 15 months of education and advocacy efforts by a wide variety of organizations. One of the catalysts was the release in September of 2004 of the Music for All Foundation's report: The Sound of Silence: the Unprecedented Decline of Music Education in California Schools.
The report documented for the first time specific reductions to music programs in California schools (by some 50%). The report has served as a key source of information for the media and has been a catalyst and rallying point for advocates including the California Teachers Association, the California PTA, the California Arts Council and the California Alliance for Arts Education.
source: Illinois Arts Alliance - ARTSAdvocacyNews